Godess Dou Mu Palace

Built beside the creek, Godess Dou Mu Palace is one of the most peaceful scenic spots in Mount Tai scenic area. Tou Mu, the Bushel Mother, or Goddess of the North Star, are worshipped by both Buddhists and Taoists. From a Taoist perspective she is a stellar divinity, her full name being Jiu Lin Tai Miao Bai Yu Gui Tai Zu Guang Jin Jing Zu Mu Yuan Jun. She is also called Du Mu Yuan Jun.

The Godess Dou Mu Palace consists of the north courtyard, the middle courtyard and the south courtyard. The two Bell Drum Towers lie directly on the both sides of the gate of palace. Step into Godess Dou Mu Palace, you can see the Tianmen hanging from the north and some short mountain standing under the feet from the south.

Within the middle courtyard, there is a mountain gate facing the west. The delicate carved stone lion is crouching under the gate. The Bell Tower and the Drum Tower lie beside the gate. The Enshrined Godess Dou Mu, also called Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes Buddha, is situated in the main hall of the courtyard. At present, the Tibet Bodhisattva Bronze statue is lie on the site. The original delicate carved Zitan Avalokitesvara, Manjuist and Samantabhadra Three Bodhisattva in the Dongpei Hall were destroyed in 1966. Today, the original place of the Dongpei Hall becomes a Cultural Relics Showroom.

The monk rooms locate on the north of the front yard. And the Jiyun building stands on the southeast of it. Within the front yard, there is a natural pool. Established during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the natural pool is used for storing the water and irrigating the field. The north of the pool is Nanshan Gate.

On the backyard, there are the main hall, the Peidian and the Chanfang. You can take a rest and appreciate the landscape at Tingquanshan Room and Longquan Pavilion. Under the pavilion, there is “Santan Diebao”, which is like a flying dragon. Outside the west mountain gate there is an old locust tree with huge branch prostrating on the ground. Commonly known as the Wolong Huai, the old locust tree looks like a lying dragon raising its head.



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